1. Field
This invention relates generally to trailer hitches and more specifically to a novel apparatus for mounting on the frame of a pick-up truck whereby a trailer having a standard gooseneck attachment is facilely connected to a ball hitch which is attached thereto in the bed of the pick-up truck.
2. Prior Art Trailer hitch assemblies are widely used to temporarily connect, in rotatable fashion, a trailer to a lead vehicle which supplies directional and driving capabilities. Trailers are known to provide a variety of advantages, perhaps most noteworthy of which is a marked increase in storage capacity of the lead vehicle.
While a number of different devices and related methods are known whereby a hitch ball or other hitch coupling is connected to the lead vehicle, many larger trailers are equipped with what has become known in the industry as a gooseneck assembly. A gooseneck assembly typically comprises an extended, crooked neck which extends into the bed of the pick-up truck, the free end of the neck including a ball receiving locking mechanism. In the bed of the truck, near the center thereof, a ball hitch assembly is mounted. Generally, this ball hitch is mounted only by means of a mounting plate, or similar, which is securely attached, usually by bolting to the bed of the truck.
While in many cases this assembly is suitable, the weight of a large, heavy trailer tends to place undue stress on the mounting plate, often resulting in a failure of the ball attachment to the bed of the truck. Of course, such a risk of failure is dangerous and therefore unacceptable.
An advantage is provided when the mounting plate to which the ball hitch is secured is secured to the frame of the truck. This has shown to be a more effective and safe way to attach the ball hitch to the truck bed. However, problems still arise from this arrangement. For example, it is often desirable to remove the ball hitch from its mounted position in the bed of the truck to otherwise use the bed of the truck such as for cargo storage. When the ball hitch is removed on a regular basis for such purposes the securing parts become worn and as a result fail to function as required.
Furthermore, jostling and jarring in the normal course of traveling with a gooseneck trailer similarly tends to wear on the ball hitch assembly, thus causing a decrease in effectiveness. As a result, ball hitch assemblies often must be replaced after a relatively short period of time or after a relatively few number of miles, which can be unduly expensive.
Therefore, it would serve a legitimate interest in the art to create a ball hitch assembly which can easily be removed from the mounting plate which secures it firmly to the frame of the truck and similarly replaced. Also, it would be advantageous to provide such a ball hitch assembly which may be secured to the mounting plate without the standard locking mechanism, usually a lock washer, so as to prevent the wearing of parts.